Salex
Classification and Dialects The following functions or word qualities are present in Salex. AFF - Affirmative NEG - Negative OPP - Oppositional NTL - Neutral NTH - North STH - South EST - East WST - West IHT - Inherent ACQ - Acquired ARB - Arbitrary IND - Indefinite DEF - Definite PSL - Personal IPL - Impersonal NUL - Null SNG - Singular PLU - Plural DUL - Dual INC - Inclusive EXC - Exclusive SPL - Simple PFT - Perfect IMP - Imperfect PRG - Progressive PRT - Preterite HYP - Hypothetical CND - Conditional AUX - Auxiliary INF - Infinitive PST - Past PRS - Present FUT - Future ACT - Active PSV - Passive RFX - Reflexive RCL - Reciprocal Phonology Consonants Vowels Phonotactics *Words may not end in a voiced obstruent *Consonant clusters may contain, at most, two obstruents, and none may be longer than three consonants. Writing System Digraphs Double letters besides L and R represent geminates. Grammar Defining aspects of Salex's grammar include: *Polarity (affirmative, negative, oppositional, neutral / north, south, east, west) *Distinction between inherent and acquired properties of nouns *Tripartite vowel signatures for nouns and verbs Polarity The concept of polarity is present throughout Salex. First, any polar component of the language (verbs, vowels, adjectives, etc.) has either even or odd polarity. Odd polarity occurs when the components are unequal, i.e. there's a connotative difference (positive vs. negative). AFF, NEG, OPP and NTL polarity is odd. Even is the exact opposite, when the components carry an equal but opposite meaning and the polarity can be assigned arbitrarily. This is noted with NTH, STH, EST, and WST. Vowel polarity is as follows. Recall that North, South, and West are assigned arbitrarily; it's only important that North and South are treated as opposites. Some inflectional operations involve exchanging vowels for their opposite. Connotative vowels play a role in how Salex handles polarity. The three connotative vowels are U, Ü, and I. I is associated with proximal, positive things, U with distal, negative things, and Ü with medial, neutral things. While this association isn't universal, it nevertheless is a clear pattern in the language. It is thought that other vowels had full connotative roles early in the language's development, but they have since disappeared. It is also likely that some consonants have limited, likely undetectable connotative roles. Vowel Signatures The last three vowels separated by consonants in a word are referred to as the vowel signature. This is the mechanism used for inflection of nouns and verbs. They're noted with dashes, ex. A-E-U. Each of these vowels plays a different grammatical role. An X can be used as a "wildcard" meaning that any vowel fits the signature, ex. A-E-X would be applicable to both dalenni and katerro. Nouns Nouns decline to definiteness (arbitrary, indefinite, definite) and number (null, singular, plural). There are four classes of declension depending on the ending of the verb in the arbitrary singular form. Classes 1-3 end in NTH vowels which are made null with their respective STH vowel and pluralized with Æ. Class 4 ends in a NTH vowel followed by -x. It can be made null by swapping the NTH vowel for its respective STH vowel, but the NTH-x form is used for both the singular and plural, similar to the English word deer. Definiteness is determined by the second vowel in the signature. Verbs Verbs have only one declension class. They're characterized by the gemination of the consonant that begins the last syllable, or one of the non-geminate double consonants, rr and ll. Syntax Lexicon Example text Category:Languages